Explorer David Breashears on economic risk

The main Rongbuk glacier in the Himalayas. - Photo by David Breashears, GlacierWorks

We're at the Belly Up, the premiere music club here in Aspen, along with about 150 of our closest friends. This is gonna be a slightly different kind of Marketplace. We're gonna talk about the economy, like we always do. But of the zillions of problems the American economy faces right now, maybe the biggest is the one least understood.

I'm talking about risk. When to take, when not to and what to do when your best laid plans let you down.

On the show today, we spoke with a guy who knows a little something about risk, in the 'get it wrong and you might die' sense of the word. David Breashears is a filmmaker, explorer and mountaineer. He's executive director and founder of GlacierWorks, a nonprofit highlighting changes to Himalayan glaciers through art, science and adventure. He's also the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest twice.

So like I said, risk is no stranger. Listen to the interview in the audio player above. Plus, explore our interactive before-and-after images of a Himalayan glacier to see how much has changed over the last decade. The photos were provided by GlacierWorks.

Click through to view an interactive version of the image above illustrating nearly a century's worth of changes to the Kyetrak Glacier in the Himalaya.

Click through to view an interactive version of the image above illustrating nearly a century's worth of changes to the Rongbuk Glacier in the Himalaya.